Programs

Aerospace Engineering, B.S.

Offered by: The Henry Samueli School of Engineering

Aerospace engineers analyze, design, and manufacture aircraft and spacecraft, including the engines that propel these vehicles. To achieve these goals, aerospace engineers use mathematics, physics, and chemistry together with engineering science and technology.

The undergraduate curriculum includes the topics of subsonic and supersonic aerodynamics, propulsion, controls and performance, light-weight structures, spacecraft dynamics, and advanced materials. Coursework emphasizes engineering fundamentals and their application to the aerospace field. Laboratory courses provide hands-on experience with wind-tunnel testing, advanced flow diagnostics, structural testing, and control-system design.  In the senior capstone course, students work in teams on the preliminary design of a commercial jet transport.

African American Studies, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

The major and minor in African American Studies offer students an opportunity to study those societies and cultures established by the people of the African diaspora. The program’s curriculum encourages students to investigate the African American experience from a variety of disciplinary perspectives and theoretical approaches.

Among the topics explored in the course offerings are the process of colonization and the forced migration of African people, the positionality of African people in the racialized symbolic and social orders of the western hemisphere, the rhetoric produced by and about African people, and the cultural and aesthetic values associated with “blackness” and “Africanness.” 

Anthropology, B.A.

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

Thinking about a major or minor in anthropology? Worried about what your parents and friends might think? Well, fear no more!

UCI's Anthropology major specializes in sociocultural anthropology, the subfield of anthropology devoted to the comparative and in-depth study of culture. Our faculty research such topics as new technologies and new kinds of science that shape, and are shaped by, culture; music, art, and expressive culture; gender and political transition; globalization and modernity. Students are prepared for a wide variety of jobs in business, government and non-governmental organizations and have also gone on to the very top graduate and professional programs in the country.

Applied Physics, B.S.

Offered by: School of Physical Sciences

Applied Physics majors are expert problem-solvers with a broad understanding of physical principles.  Graduates are prepared for careers in industrial research, applications programming, education, law, or business, as well as for graduate study in astronomy, biomedical physics, engineering, or physics.

The Applied Physics major allows students to combine physics courses with courses from overlapping disciplines, such as materials science, electrical engineering, geosciences, biomedical imaging, or other fields. The program includes a standard track for graduate study in Physics, a specialization in Astrophysics, and concentrations in Computational Physics, the Philosophy of Physics, and Physics Education.

Art, B.A.

Offered by: Claire Trevor School of the Arts

Art majors learn a broad, interdisciplinary view of contemporary art practice at UCI.  With an emphasis on experimentation and innovation, the program is viewed as a leader in genres addressing cultural identity and emerging technologies.  Students are provided with a solid theoretical and technical foundation from which to approach art making as both process and product.  

Art majors are encouraged to develop an individual, disciplined direction approach to media, materials, and techniques.  To this end, the curriculum provides studio experiences in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, digital imaging, video, performance art, and new media.  

Art History, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

Art History is the study of works of art and other visual artifacts from all regions of the world and all periods of history. With its global perspective, the curriculum is one of the most diverse disciplines in the humanities.

Through Art History, students learn how to describe and interpret a range of objects including sculpture, painting, photography, architecture, and “new media” such as video and performance art. These skills, along with the program’s intense focus on writing and verbal expression, prepare students to think critically and to express themselves clearly at a time when visual communication is becoming ever more important.

Asian American Studies, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

Asian American Studies majors examine the history, social organization, culture, literature, and art of Asian Americans as part of American multi-ethnic society. A context for understanding the cultures and histories of Asian American and Pacific American peoples, and their experiences in relation to their countries of origin is provided by the program.

The curriculum seeks to impart an analysis of the cultural, political, and economical organization of Asian American communities. Students are invited to participate and partake in broadening their understanding of multicultural perspectives within U.S. society. 

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, B.S.

Offered by: School of Biological Sciences

Almost all areas of biological sciences are impacted by studies at the chemical and molecular level. Students who wish to begin in-depth study of the molecular basis in any of a variety of fields, including development, gene expression, immunology, pathogenesis, disease, virology, and evolution, can do so through this major.

Graduates will be prepared to pursue graduate degrees that emphasize basic scientific research, including Ph.D. and M.S. programs. In addition, and particularly with the explosive growth in biotechnology and its significant influence in everyday life, graduates could use their backgrounds very effectively to pursue careers in business, education, law, and public affairs.

Biological Sciences, B.S.

Offered by: School of Biological Sciences

The Biological Sciences major presents a unified, in-depth study of modern biology, with courses ranging from ecology and evolutionary biology to genetics, biochemistry and molecular biology.

Important laboratory techniques and methodology are presented in upper-division laboratories. Advanced elective courses provide an opportunity to continue to diversify students’ exposure to the biological sciences or to gain a much more in-depth study of a particular area of the biological sciences.

Graduates have entered fields such as medicine, genetic counseling, physical therapy, environmental management, and many others.

Biology/Education, B.S.

Offered by: School of Biological Sciences

The Biology/Education major allows a student to earn a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences concurrently with a California Preliminary Single Subject Teaching Credential. Individuals who hold this credential are authorized to teach biology and general science in a middle school or high school.

With careful, early planning, it is possible for students to complete their bachelor’s degree and teacher certification in four years. This is a more time-efficient and cost-effective route than the traditional five-year teacher preparation model, which usually involves a full academic year of teacher education courses and clinical teaching experience after completion of a bachelor’s degree.

Biomedical Engineering, B.S.

Offered by: The Henry Samueli School of Engineering

Biomedical engineers serve people, work with living systems, and apply advanced technology to the complex problems of medical care. They may be called upon to design instruments and devices to diagnose and treat disease, engineer tissues to repair wounds, develop cutting-edge genetic treatments, or create computer programs to understand how the human body works.

The curriculum emphasizes education in the fundamentals of engineering sciences that form the common basis of all engineering subspecialties.  Elements of bio-engineering design are incorporated at every level in the curriculum through integration of laboratory experimentation, computer applications, and exposure to actual bio-engineering problems throughout the program.

Biomedical Engineering: Premedical, B.S.

Offered by: The Henry Samueli School of Engineering

This major prepares students for medical school, and is also suitable for those planning to enter graduate school in biomedical engineering, physiology, biology, neurosciences, among others.  It has less engineering and more biological sciences content than the biomedical engineering major, and is one of many majors that can serve as preparation for further training in medical, veterinary, or allied health professions.

The curriculum covers a quantitative background in biomechanics, bioelectronics, and biotransport, which is important because of the heavy utilization of biomedical technology in modern medical practice. The curriculum includes courses in the sciences that satisfy the requirements of most medical schools.

Business Administration, B.A.

Offered by: The Paul Merage School of Business

The Business Administration major offers a traditional curriculum found in one of the top business schools in the country.  The major is broad, drawing on the social sciences to study organizations, interpersonal communication skills, individual and group behavior, leadership, strategy, financial and accounting issues, ethics, information technology, marketing, and more.

While preparing students for careers in management, the Merage School will help students fashion an undergraduate program tailored to their own unique career objectives.  Management education blended with specific industry areas could include, for example, bioscience business, government service, international commerce, arts management, entrepreneurship in computer gaming, and other combinations.

Business Economics, B.A.

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

The Business Economics major is for students seeking a business orientation in their study of economics. It does not replicate the traditional undergraduate business school curriculum. Instead, it offers a more tightly focused curriculum that is guided by the rigorous logic and integrative perspective of economics. 

In addition to required economics courses for the major, students also take business electives and select from among topics such as corporate finance, international trade and commercial policy, and business forecasting; and management electives from among topics such as business decisions, behavioral economics, and economics of law. 

Business Information Management, B.S.

Offered by: The Paul Merage Business School and the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

Today's business environment needs professionals who understand business concepts and practices, and know how to use information technology for strategic business analysis and decision-making.

This Business Information Management major consists of an integrated curriculum covering computing (computer science, informatics, and software); business fundamentals (accounting, finance, marketing, strategy, and operations); and analytical methods (mathematics, statistics, economics, management science, and decision analysis).

Students graduate prepared to pursue careers in the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors, or they can proceed to graduate school in several disciplines, including information systems, computing, economics, business, and law.

Offered jointly by The Paul Merage School of Business and the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Science.

Chemical Engineering, B.S.

Offered by: The Henry Samueli School of Engineering

Chemical engineering adds chemistry as a full partner to the traditional engineering sciences of mathematics and physics. Chemical engineers typically concern themselves with the chemical processes that turn raw materials into valuable products. Students choose chemical engineering to gain the broadest scientific and technical skills to apply to chemical, biological, and environmental problems.

Chemical engineers have contributed to advances as wide-ranging as nuclear medicine, pharmaceuticals, plastics and other synthetic materials, pollution controls, electronic and cryogenic materials, consumer products, and improvements to food production.

The curriculum builds on basic courses in chemical engineering, and provides a strong background in humanities and human behavior. 

Chemistry, B.S.

Offered by: School of Physical Sciences

Chemistry majors plan for careers in the chemical sciences and have interests in biology, medicine, earth sciences, secondary education, business, and law. The curriculum is designed to satisfy the diverse needs of these students and others who may have occasion to study chemistry.

The program emphasizes research and chemistry majors are urged to engage in research or independent study under the direction of a faculty member.

Chicano/Latino Studies, B.A.

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

Examine the historical and contemporary experiences of Americans of Latino origin or ancestry. This diverse population includes people who trace their heritage to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and other Latin American and Caribbean nations.

The curriculum provides an awareness, knowledge, and appreciation of the language, history, culture, literature, sociology, anthropology, politics, social ecology, health, medicine, and creative (art, dance, drama, film, music) accomplishments of Chicano/Latino communities.

Chinese Studies, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

The major in Chinese Studies offers two emphases: Chinese Language and Literature, and Chinese Culture and Society. The Language and Literature emphasis enables students to understand the extensive and rich literary, historical, social, and aesthetic achievements of China by studying its language, literature, film, religion, and other cultural accomplishments in depth. The Culture and Society emphasis stresses a multidisciplinary examination of modern Chinese culture and society that includes the perspectives of both the humanities and the social sciences.

The major emphasizes the complementarity of these approaches in understanding the complexity of the forces that have shaped contemporary China.

Civil Engineering, B.S.

Offered by: The Henry Samueli School of Engineering

Civil engineering deals with civil infrastructure systems such as buildings, bridges, roads, transportation and water systems. Students choose civil engineering to be of immediate service to their community and to be involved in a more hands-on, social discipline.

Civil engineers plan, design, and supervise the construction of facilities such as high-rise buildings, airports, water-treatment centers, transportation networks, and sanitation plants. Civil engineers play a key role in environmental protection through the study of water resources, air pollution, and solid-waste disposal.

The goal of the Civil Engineering curriculum is to prepare graduates for a career in practice, research, or teaching. 

Classics, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

Classics majors learn the origins and heritage of Greco-Roman civilization. The program is committed to a twofold purpose: (1) disseminating interest in and knowledge of Classical Civilization through the teaching of Greek and Latin language and literature; and (2) helping students, through courses in Classical literature, history, civilization, mythology, and religion taught through English translations, to appreciate the achievements of Greek and Roman culture and their pervasive influence on our own civilization.

In addition, students will examine the reception of key texts by later thinkers and writers.  Authors include Homer, Vergil, Catullus, Livy, Euripides, Plato, and others.

Cognitive Sciences, B.S.

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

The B.S. in Cognitive Sciences is strongly grounded in theory and an empirical approach emphasizing experimental/computational methods. To ensure an intellectually coherent experience, students in the major are able to choose courses from areas including: (a) Cognitive Neuroscience; (b) Experimental Psychology–Sensation, Perception, Attention, and Memory; (c) Language Science; and (d) Computational Cognitive Science. In addition, students are required to acquire a background in (a) calculus, (b) statistics, (c) introductory computer programming, and (d) some combination of the natural sciences, logic and philosophy of science, linguistics, or more advanced computer science or mathematics. 

Comparative Literature, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

Comparative literature is the study of the world through its literatures and cultures. From novel to poetry, drama to film, monuments to political protest, comics to audio, urban space to visual culture—comparative literature introduces students to global cultures in the widest sense, and to the theoretical lenses essential for putting them in perspective.

Comparative Literature majors interpret and engage with other academics and publics outside the academy through writing, speaking, visualizing, blogging, and social networking. Comparative Literature majors can choose among three emphases: Comparative Literature and Critical Theory, Cultural Studies, and World Literature. 

Computer Engineering, B.S.

Offered by: The Henry Samueli School of Engineering

Computer engineers deal with all aspects of computer systems, including design, construction, and operation. Some computer engineers specialize in areas like digital systems, operating systems, computer networks, and software.

The computer engineering curriculum addresses the design and analysis of digital computers, including both software and hardware. Computer design includes topics such as computer architecture, VLSI circuits, design automation, system software, data structures and algorithms.

Courses include programming in high-level languages, use of software packages for analysis and design, design of system software, and the application of computers in solving engineering problems. Laboratories in both hardware and software experiences are integrated within the curriculum.

Computer Game Science, B.S.

Offered by: Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

The Computer Game Science major combines computer science with a focus on designing, building, and understanding computer games and other forms of interactive media. Students receive a firm foundation in the fundamentals of information and computer science, augmented with courses in film and media studies, mathematics, physics, and game technology. 

Throughout the major, students gain hands-on experience in creating a variety of digital games. Working in teams, you will employ a variety of different programming languages, game platforms and hardware. This culminates in a two-quarter capstone course where you will design and implement a new game from scratch under the supervision of game designers from the local industry.

Computer Science, B.S.

Offered by: Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

UCI’s Computer Science program is internationally recognized for its unique group of faculty and researchers, outstanding students, and cutting edge curriculum.

The Computer Science major emphasizes the principles of computing that underlie our modern world, and provides a strong foundational education to prepare students for the broad spectrum of careers in computing. Students receive a solid background in low-level architecture and systems, as well as training in middle-level infrastructure, algorithms, and mathematical foundations. From mathematical theories, data structures, and algorithms, to the operating systems and programs that employ them, an understanding of computer science is essential if you wish to develop the next advances in computer technology and applications. 

Computer Science and Engineering, B.S.

Offered by: The Henry Samueli School of Engineering and the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

The Computer Science and Engineering major provides a unique educational opportunity for students interested in learning about both the hardware and software aspects of computers, and the application of computers to real-world problems. CSE includes methods of organizing and manipulating information (computer science), as well as the design of computers and their components (computer engineering).

Students learn the computer science principles that are critical to the development of software, hardware, and networking of computer systems. From that background, engineering concepts and methods are added to give students exposure to circuit design, network design, and digital signal processing.

Offered jointly by The Henry Samueli School of Engineering and the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences.

Criminology, Law and Society, B.A.

Offered by: School of Social Ecology

Criminology, Law and Society majors learn why we have the laws we have, why the law often results in unintended consequences, who violates the law and why, and how communities respond to crime.

Explore the problem of crime and the social, cultural, political, and economic forces that interact with the law. Students learn how, why, and what behaviors society chooses to control or regulate. 

This major provides excellent preparation for law school and careers in criminal justice and regulatory agencies, public policy organizations, social service organizations, law and legal services, and a wide variety of other areas.

Dance, B.A.

Offered by: Claire Trevor School of the Arts

UCI’s dance major is one of the largest and most comprehensive university dance programs in the United States. Students embrace dance in its many forms, including ballet, modern dance, jazz, tap, Spanish dance, and a changing selection of world dance forms.

Courses cover dance history, critical issues in dance, research methods, kinesiology, injury prevention and dance science, choreography, video technology, and more.

Students benefit from exposure to many styles and approaches and the result is a stimulating, well-rounded educational experience.

Data Science, B.S.

Offered by: Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

If you enjoy working with data, understanding basic mathematical principles, and implementing your ideas in algorithms and software, then the Data Science major is for you. Data Science majors learn the principles underlying mathematical and statistical aspects of data analysis as well as a broad range of foundational skills in computing. The program will build on these ideas to teach you how to utilize your knowledge to analyze and solve a variety of data analysis problems.

Faculty are experts in machine learning, Bayesian statistics, database management, graph algorithms, and more. Students can participate in undergraduate research projects and summer internships in Southern California or Silicon Valley. 

Developmental and Cell Biology, B.S.

Offered by: School of Biological Sciences

Students majoring in Developmental and Cell Biology are provided with intensive training in cutting-edge approaches to understanding the structure and function of cells and how they interact to produce a complex organism, starting with a fertilized egg. In-depth training in the molecular basis of cell and developmental biology will be coupled with integrating knowledge obtained from the recent explosive advances in genomic technology to provide a strong working understanding of how to approach problems in basic research.

Distinctive features of the major include new upper-division courses, flexibility in the curriculum, an option for mentored research, and close interaction with faculty advisors.  

Drama, B.A.

Offered by: Claire Trevor School of the Arts

Drama began with the greatest literature ever written—Theatre—and the practice of Drama is a hands-on collaboration that involves real-time interactions with other artists, and displaying the results of your work to real-life audiences.

A drama major is part of a larger education that will include close consideration of world history and politics; human psychology and desire; music, dance, literature and art; visual and aural aesthetics, and both ancient and contemporary technologies of communication.

While studying acting, directing, design, music theatre, playwriting, stage management, theatre production, and more, students also have hands-on involvement in various UCI productions. 

Earth System Science, B.S.

Offered by: School of Physical Sciences

Gain a fundamental understanding of the oceanographic, atmospheric, and terrestrial sciences. Students learn to apply basic sciences (physics, chemistry, mathematics, and biology) to understand the major processes and systems governing the Earth’s climate, biogeochemical cycles, and global change.

Students will learn to explain the current and projected future state of the Earth system in the context of past climate change and current human activities. Opportunities to participate in research are also available. The B.S. program provides students with a solid scientific understanding of Earth system science, which can lead to careers in science, research, or technical fields.

East Asian Cultures, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

Technological borderless-ness, combined with more permeable political frontiers, has created a space of mutual awareness and interaction in East Asia. This regionalism holds the promise of new avenues of study and employment for fields as diverse as developmental economics, international finance and relations, film production and distribution, biological and environmental engineering, literature, publishing, and education.

Majors gain knowledge of East Asian cultures through offerings on topics as diverse as environmental ideologies, translation, and post colonialism, to courses on film, popular culture, and both traditional and modern literature.  Majors also acquire intermediate proficiency in at least one East Asian language.

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, B.S.

Offered by: School of Biological Sciences

Modern biologists are increasingly incorporating ecological and evolutionary ideas in their research. The Ecology and Evolutionary Biology major is designed for students interested in the basic principles underlying organismal change over time, and how organisms interact with each other and their environment. The major is very broad, including components of evolutionary biology, ecology, and physiology.

Following graduation, students will be especially well-prepared to enter graduate programs in either ecology or evolution for advanced study. The major also provides the foundation to pursue careers in governmental and non-governmental environmental organizations, as well as professional schools. 

Economics, B.A.

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

This major is designed for students seeking a broad education applicable to occupations in business, law, and government or as preparation for graduate school in the social sciences. Among the course topics Economics majors will study are basic and intermediate economics, probability and statistics in economics, single-variable calculus, mathematics for economists, and applied econometrics.

Education Sciences, B.A.

Offered by: School of Education

The major in Education Sciences provides a foundation for the study of education.  Graduates are prepared for careers in the global knowledge economy, with opportunities to apply learning modalities and technologies in multicultural contexts. Career opportunities for graduates can span public education, informatics, higher education, and education software development.

Electrical Engineering, B.S.

Offered by: The Henry Samueli School of Engineering

Electrical engineering is a broad field encompassing such diverse subject areas as computers, controls, electronics, digital systems, communications, signal processing, electromagnetics, and physics of electronic devices. Electrical engineers focus on the behavior of electronic devices and circuits that are the basic building blocks of complex electronic systems: the generation, transmission, and utilization of electrical energy; behavior of complex electronic systems, such as computers, automatic controls, telecommunications, and signal processing; and the applications of these complex systems to other areas, including medicine, biology, geology, and ecology.

Engineering, B.S.

Offered by: The Henry Samueli School of Engineering

The general engineering major allows upper-division students the opportunity to pursue multidisciplinary programs of study not offered within UCI’s engineering departments.

The general engineering program creates a flexible environment for high-achieving students to study complex engineering disciplines such as biochemical engineering, electromechanical engineering, project management, hydrology, engineering mathematics, engineering mechanics, and engineering physics. In consultation with a faculty advisor, students may choose any area of special interest.

English, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

UCI’s English program offers an extraordinary range of approaches to the literary text.  You might explore the impact of Hollywood on storytelling in one class and examine the formal conventions of Elizabethan love sonnets in another. You might explore the ways Jane Austen subtly probes the boundaries of gender roles in early 19^th-century England or you might analyze the intersection of race and sexuality in the poetry of Langston Hughes.

English majors learn to conduct research, produce effective professional writing, and interpret written works with the tools of rhetorical and culture analysis. Faculty include literary theorists and historians, rhetoricians, fiction writers, and poets.

Environmental Engineering, B.S.

Offered by: The Henry Samueli School of Engineering

Environmental engineers design and integrate technologies that minimize the deterioration of natural resources and promote urban sanitation. Advances in water-treatment processes, such as disinfection and filtration, have virtually eliminated once wide-spread diseases, including cholera, typhoid, and dysentery.

Today, the challenges facing environmental engineers are even more complex. Physical, chemical, and microbiological approaches are needed to remediate contaminated soils and aquifers. Alternative materials and processing methods must be found to replace the use and release of hazardous chemicals. More effective pollution-control technologies are required for urban waste-water and combustion emissions.

Environmental Science and Policy, B.A.

Offered by: School of Physical Sciences and School of Social Ecology

Environmental Science and Policy majors will learn environmental problem solving by linking an understanding of natural science with socioeconomic factors and public policy. The curriculum combines a quantitative understanding of environmental science, chemistry, and biology with law, policy, and economics to provide a foundation for careers in environmental policy, resource management, education, environmental law, urban and environmental design and related fields.

Environmental Science and Policy majors will have a solid foundation to recognize the impacts of human activities on the environment, and in turn the impacts of environmental change on society. Students will understand the mechanisms by which key institutions, policies, and regulations impact ecosystems and the physical environment.

European Studies, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

The European Studies program focuses on the study of Europe from the vantage points of several disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Because Europe is both a geographical place and an idea that changes throughout history, it has had different meanings at different times and in different places.

The program provides a multidisciplinary view of Europe as a whole and of its historical, political, and cultural formation and global implications and encounters with the non-European world. It also provides a focus on a specific area of European experience that cuts across traditional disciplinary and national boundaries. 

Exercise Sciences, B.S.

Offered by: School of Biological Sciences

Virtually every organism is dependent on movement in one form or another. With respect to humans, physical activity imposes unique stresses on a broad spectrum of cell types, tissues, and organ systems. In so doing, physical activity plays a key role in shaping fundamental biological processes necessary for maintaining health and preventing disease.

While both human and nonhuman species exhibit many common biological phenomenon, there are also many unique aspects of their physiology. This major will also highlight some of the unique physiological traits of nonhuman species and how such unique phenomenon may provide important insights into human health. 

Film and Media Studies, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

Media greatly influence our sense of who we are and how we live. Those sights and sounds are so pervasive that we rarely pause to consider how we engage and interact with them.

The Film and Media Studies curriculum trains students to read and understand the audio-visual expressions and forms of media, and to analyze them from historical, theoretical, political, and aesthetic perspectives. The skills learned are relevant not only in the influential U.S. film and broadcast industries or in the fast-growing Internet and game sectors, but also increasingly as the professional language of the future in legal, medical, and business careers.

French, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

The undergraduate program in French is multidisciplinary, where the study of literature is linked to critical, historical, and political concerns. Courses reflect the faculty's interest in the related disciplines of history, philosophy, anthropology, visual studies, gender and sexuality studies, cultural studies, postcolonial studies, and comparative literature.

Lower-division language courses encourage students to participate in the creative process of language, to think in French as they learn to understand, speak, read, and write. These courses are taught entirely in French, and the approach to teaching stresses the interdependence of the four basic language skills and makes them mutually reinforcing.  

Gender and Sexuality Studies, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

The Gender and Sexuality Studies major is dedicated to the study of women, gender, and sexuality in their complex articulation with race, ethnicity, class, religion, and nationality. By emphasizing a rigorous interdisciplinary perspective in their teaching and research, faculty seek to produce new knowledge about the social meanings of gender, race, class, and sexuality, and to equip students with a range of analytical and methodological skills.

Gender and Sexuality Studies provides a unique intellectual community for students, where faculty and students share a commitment to interactive teaching and learning. 

Genetics, B.S.

Offered by: School of Biological Sciences

Genetics pervades every aspect of modern society, from discussions on health care to cloning. With the sequencing of the human genome, it is more important than ever for biology students to have a broad background in the study of heredity and evolution.

The Genetics major is designed to benefit undergraduates who have a particular interest in learning about developmental genetics, evolutionary genetics, and molecular genetics and to allow them to explore how our knowledge of genetic mechanisms contributes to our understanding of human development and disease. The major will be especially attractive to students desiring focused study and preparation for graduate training.

German Studies, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

The German Studies major emphasizes the humanistic endeavor of understanding and evaluating culture. Courses are focused on language, literature, and film in context, that is, within the historical, social, philosophical, linguistic, intellectual, and political circumstances of their production and continuing reception.

In the lower-division language courses, students develop skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing through an engaging, collaborative, task-based curriculum. The courses place a great deal of emphasis on meaningful cultural literacy in German, employing a diverse range of authentic texts and materials from the beginning. 

Global Cultures, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

Global Cultures majors explore the problems and processes of globalization from a humanistic perspective. The major provides students with analytical skills and knowledge critical to understanding the complexities of the diverse world in which we live.

Tailored to individual needs and interests, students choose from several approved geographic emphases (e.g., Africa, Asia, Europe, Atlantic Rim, Pacific Rim, Inter-Area Studies, and Hispanic/U.S. Latino/Luso-Brazilian Culture), or they may define their own emphases. The degree leads to a variety of careers in areas such as business, law, politics, television, print media, and also to graduate studies.

Global Middle East Studies, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

The Global Middle East Studies major offers students an in-depth, interdisciplinary grounding in the histories and present-day realities of the Middle East in a global context.  Students will be well positioned to continue their studies at the graduate level in the U.S. and globally, and/or begin a career in law, business, consulting, foreign affairs, humanitarian affairs, medicine, science, or security studies, in which both theoretical and practical/first-hand knowledge of the regions we study are equally important.

History, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

History majors can build a Chinese empire, march with Roman legions, mingle with the Aztecs and Maya, have a rebirth (Renaissance), explore the events leading up to two world wars, or colonize North America and then revolt. They can also trace the interactions and origins of the globalism that daily shape our world.

The program presents a variety of approaches to history, and each emphasizes basic disciplinary skills: weighing evidence, constructing logical arguments, and exploring the role of theory in historical analysis and human action. Faculty are united by a deep curiosity and a desire to try out new ways of thinking.

Human Biology, B.S.

Offered by: School of Biological Sciences

Understanding normal and disordered human functions requires a broad integration of human physiology, behavior, and culture. Students in this major will receive a unified, in-depth study of modern biology that includes ecology, evolutionary biology, genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, human physiology, neurobiology, and behavior.

Advanced elective courses provide an opportunity to diversify exposure to the biological sciences. Additional courses in the humanities and social sciences focus on the relevance of these areas to the human condition. Given the focus on human biology, this major will serve as an ideal preparation for the health science professions.

Informatics, B.S.

Offered by: Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

Want to learn how to design better user interfaces? Wondering how evolving privacy laws affect the design of software worldwide? Care about helping people in need with smart apps? Interested in learning how information technology can support organizations?

Informatics majors receive a firm grounding in software engineering and design, human-computer interaction, computer-supported collaborative work, information visualization, and the impact of information technology on organizations and society.  Students with an affinity for design and an interest in learning how to design effective and usable software systems are encouraged to explore this major.

International Studies, B.A.

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

International Studies has a strong track record of placing graduates in exciting careers and graduate programs, including fields such as international affairs and public policy, international business and finance, international organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and academic research and teaching. 

Students majoring in international studies obtain an interdisciplinary perspective on global politics, economics, cultures and history. In addition to their coursework, International Studies students are encouraged to engage globally in a variety of ways: involvement in student organizations, residency in the International Peace and Conflict Studies (IPACS) House, study abroad, UCDC, and internships (local and international).

Japanese Language and Literature, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

Japan is a land with a long and distinguished history and culture. Over the years it has actively welcomed the cultural heritage of Chinese, Korean, European, and American institutions. These have shaped Japan’s distinctive achievements in the arts, sciences, and culture.

The Japanese major makes use of this rich legacy, still in the making, spanning ancient Japanese literary and visual culture to contemporary popular culture (manga, anime, postmodern art, literature, and aesthetics). The curriculum enables students to understand the extensive and rich literary, historical, social, and aesthetic achievements of Japan by studying its language, literature, film, religion, and other cultural accomplishments in depth.

Korean Literature and Culture, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

The rich cultural traditions of Korea have been developed as a result of interactions with two neighboring countries: China and Japan. The curriculum for Korean Literature and Culture enables students to understand the extensive and rich literary, historical, social, and aesthetic achievements of Korea by studying its language, literature, film, religion, and other cultural accomplishments in depth.  Korean majors will achieve proficient understanding of Korean in professional and social environments. Majors have successfully gone on to pursue careers in academia, business, law, and public service.

Language Science, B.A.

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

Language Science major will learn theoretical, behavioral, computational, and applied approaches to language science. Students will have a background in theoretical linguistics, language development & use, advanced aspects of natural or formal languages, the analytical tools of formal language study, and some combination of neuroscience, psychology, logic, computer science, anthropology, education, and hearing & speech, as related to the scientific study of language and its applications.

This is attractive for a variety of careers, including teaching, language technology industry positions, teaching English as a second language abroad, interpreting & translation, technical writing, language consulting for legal firms and medical practices, and advertising, among others.

Literary Journalism, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

The Literary Journalism major builds on UCI’s nationally ranked programs in creative writing, literature and literary theory. Majors take three intensive writing seminars, and are expected to develop a portfolio of work by graduation which they can present as evidence of their skill for purposes of employment or future education.  At the same time, majors are asked to take a comprehensive look at the theory, history and context of literary journalism.  The major is excellent preparation for students planning to enter graduate programs in journalism, as well as for those interested in the many careers requiring sophisticated writing skills.

Materials Science Engineering, B.S.

Offered by: The Henry Samueli School of Engineering

Materials play a crucial role in the growth, prosperity, security, and quality of human life. The major in Materials Science Engineering is designed to provide education and training areas related to the impact of materials on the environment and biotechnology. Its distinctive features include a multi- and interdisciplinary curriculum that develops students’ communication and computer skills, and draws from the physical sciences as well as other engineering disciplines such as chemical, civil and mechanical engineering. Students gain a fundamental understanding of structures, properties, processing, and performance, with an emphasis on engineering aspects of materials and the selection of materials to meet design goals.

Mathematics, B.S.

Offered by: School of Physical Sciences

Mathematics majors acquire an understanding of the fundamental mathematical tools that apply to the wide array of statistical, business, economic, financial, engineering, biological, and physical and natural sciences.

The program covers the theories and applications of calculus, linear and abstract algebra, analysis and differential equations, numerical methods, probability and statistics, number theory and logic, and geometry and topology. This knowledge is paramount to the study of many disciplines, making the study of mathematics a truly interdisciplinary one. Students can choose from many electives to concentrate or specialize in statistics, economics, applied and computational math, or education during their junior and senior years.

Mechanical Engineering, B.S.

Offered by: The Henry Samueli School of Engineering

Mechanical engineers design, manufacture, and control machines ranging from robots to aircraft and spacecraft. They also design engines and power plants that drive these machines, analyze the environmental impact associated with power generation, and strive to promote environmental quality. To achieve their goals, mechanical engineers use mathematics, physics, and chemistry together with engineering science and technology in areas such as fluid mechanics, heat transfer, dynamics, controls, and atmospheric science.

Mechanical Engineering students at UCI learn the problem-solving, modeling, and testing skills required to contribute to advances in modern technology.

Microbiology and Immunology, B.S.

Offered by: School of Biological Sciences

Microbiology addresses the biology of bacteria, viruses, and unicellular eukaryotes such as fungi and protozoa. Immunology encompasses efforts to understand how multicellular organisms have evolved to survive a variety of challenges to health and survival, including threats by pathogens and cancer cells.

With the growing threat of emerging diseases and the potential for viral-based biological weapons, the study of virology was recently intensified and gained new perspectives.  Students have the opportunity to specialize within the major in one of three areas: microbiology, immunology, or virology. The curricula overlap considerably, but there are unique courses for each specialty.

Accounting

Offered by: The Paul Merage School of Business

A minor in accounting can augment your academic preparation for the workplace no matter what field you plan to enter. Students drawn to courses in accounting are primarily interested in: (1) meeting the accounting coursework eligibility requirements to sit for the uniform CPA examination, (2) preparing for careers in private accounting or in other fields that require some knowledge of accounting, and (3) pursuing a graduate degree in accounting, and desiring early guidance and undergraduate coursework appropriate to this career objective. 

African American Studies

Offered by: School of Humanities

The minor in African American Studies offers students an opportunity to study those societies and cultures established by the people of the African diaspora. The program’s curriculum encourages students to investigate the African American experience from a variety of disciplinary perspectives and theoretical approaches.

Among the topics explored in the course offerings are the process of colonization and the forced migration of African people, the positionality of African people in the racialized symbolic and social orders of the western hemisphere, the rhetoric produced by and about African people, and the cultural and aesthetic values associated with “blackness” and “Africanness.” 

Anthropology

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

Where to begin?

A lot of people start with Anthro 2A or 2B, and sometimes 2C or 2D. They give an excellent overview of the main branches of anthropology.

But you can also begin with Anthro 30A or 30B to get a taste of current research and methods in anthropology. The topic of these classes varies.  For example, one year, 30A might be about money, markets, and cultural meaning; the next, it might be about science, technology and society; the next, it might be about war, terror and violence (all actual topics from the past five years). 

Archaeology

Offered by: School of Humanities

Students in the archaeology minor are introduced to modern archaeological theory and practice. The minor helps to prepare students for advanced training in art history, the archaeology of specific geographical regions, cultural resource management, museum studies, and historical preservation. It emphasizes the classical and historical archaeology of the last 5,000 years of human history.

Students are exposed to different approaches and theoretical frameworks used in the reconstruction of cultures based on their material remains and examine the use of such approaches and frameworks in a comparative context that emphasizes one geographic area. 

Art History

Offered by: School of Humanities

Study works of art and other visual artifacts from all regions of the world and all periods of history. Through Art History, students learn how to describe and interpret a range of objects including sculpture, painting, photography, architecture, and “new media” such as video and performance art. These skills, along with the program’s intense focus on writing and verbal expression, prepare students to think critically and to express themselves clearly at a time when visual communication is becoming ever more important.

Asian American Studies

Offered by: School of Humanities

Through the minor in Asian American Studies, students examine the historical and contemporary experiences of Asians after their arrival in the United States. Also developed is an awareness of the history, culture (e.g., literary, cinematic, and creative art accomplishments), psychology, political involvement, and social organization of Asian American communities. Students are invited to participate and partake in broadening their understanding of multicultural perspectives within U.S. society through traditional classroom setting as well as direct involvement with the local Asian American communities. 

Asian Studies

Offered by: School of Humanities

The Asian Studies minor allows students to explore Asian topics in a variety of fields, to develop advanced language skills, and to acquire a broader perspective as they apply the disciplinary training of their major field to effective and informed studies of Asian subjects. The minor may be combined with any major, and requires that students choose a focus on China, Japan or Korea.

Bioinformatics

Offered by: Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

The minor provides a focused study of bioinformatics to supplement a student’s major program of study and prepares students for a profession, career, or academic pursuit in which biomedical computing is an integral part but not the primary focus.

Completion of the minor requirements will enable students to do the following: synthesize computer science, quantitative methods, and biological science; understand the synergistic set of reciprocal influences between life and computational sciences and technologies; discuss biomedical computing problems and corresponding computer science perspectives; and employ principles, methods, and technologies fundamental to biomedical computing.

Biological Sciences

Offered by: School of Biological Sciences

This is the ideal time to be studying biology. We are solving problems today for which the solutions were unimaginable even a few years ago, and implications for our society, our health, and our environment are profound. Students are provided with a unique course of study that fosters a deep appreciation for the exciting facts and concepts in the field.  Students also have the opportunity to actively participate in faculty research, thus opening the door to being on the ground floor of some of the research that is making headlines today.

Biomedical Engineering

Offered by: The Henry Samueli School of Engineering

Private biomedical industry has indicated a keen interest in engineers with a more traditional engineering degree (i.e. electrical engineering), but who also possess some in-depth knowledge of biomedical systems. To that end, the minor in Biomedical Engineering is designed to provide a student with the introductory skills necessary to perform as an engineer in the biomedical arena.

The minor requires a total of nine courses - two advanced mathematics courses, five core Biomedical Engineering courses, and two Biomedical Engineering electives. Some of these courses may include prerequisites that may or may not be part of a students course requirements for their major.

Chicano/Latino Studies

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

Chicano/Latino Studies is an interdisciplinary department organized to provide students with the opportunity to examine the historical and contemporary experiences of Americans of Latino origin or ancestry. As a minor in Chicano/Latino Studies students obtain an awareness, knowledge, and appreciation of the language, history, culture, literature, sociology, anthropology, politics, social ecology, health, medicine, and creative (art, dance, drama, film, music) accomplishments of Chicano/Latino communities.  Students are encouraged to take advantage of educational opportunities such as study abroad, internships and independent research with faculty.

Chinese Language and Literature

Offered by: School of Humanities

The minor is comprised of courses in advanced and classical Chinese, as well as courses from the areas of East Asian languages and literatures offerings.

Chinese Studies

Offered by: School of Humanities

The Chinese Studies minor allows students to explore topics in a variety of fields about China, to develop advanced language skills, and to acquire a broader perspective as they apply the training within their major field to effective and informed studies of Chinese matters. The minor may be combined with any major, and study through the UC Education Abroad Program is encouraged.

Civic and Community Engagement

Offered by: Interdisciplinary Studies

The minor in Civic and Community Engagement is an interdisciplinary program that provides students with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values to engage as citizens and active community members in the 21st century. The minor is distinguished both by what students learn, and by how they learn it – through teaching and learning, research, and service.

Students in the minor build on their major programs of study to make connections between public problems and issues of equity and social justice; increase their knowledge of the epistemological and methodological underpinnings of community-based research; and participate in service-learning opportunities.

Classical Civilization

Offered by: School of Humanities

The study of classical civilization is designed for students who do not plan to concentrate on the Classical languages or pursue graduate study in the Classics, yet wish to obtain sound knowledge of the Classical world.

Students are encouraged to consult with the Classics advisor regarding the appropriate design of their programs.

Comparative Literature

Offered by: School of Humanities

Students with a minor in Comparative Literature learn about the historical, linguistic, and cultural contexts of texts as they are produced and received across national boundaries and in response to the dynamics of global movements and crises.  In order to be critical readers of such phenomena, students learn the analytic terms and models that have been useful to comparatists in our ongoing effort to interpret the world and the texts we read.

Conflict Resolution

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

Excellent preparation for any career!  This program explores how conflict arises, how it is represented and discussed, how it is prevented, mitigated, managed, and used for change in interpersonal relations, within and between organizations and other kinds of groups inside nations, and in conflict between nations. The curriculum includes training to become a certified mediator in the State of California.

As a conflict resolution minor, you will be invited to special engagements where you can interact with leading community and government officials from the U.S. and other countries, prominent scholars, and other experts in local and international conflict resolution.  

Criminology, Law and Society

Offered by: School of Social Ecology

Criminology, Law and Society focuses on the problem of crime and on understanding the social, cultural, political, and economic forces that interact with the law. Basic courses present overviews of American legal systems with particular emphasis on criminal and juvenile justice, forms of criminal behavior, the role of law in understanding social and psychological phenomena, and the applications of sociological theory in understanding law and legal systems. Subsequent coursework provides a deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of crime, criminal justice policy, and socio-legal theory, including how legal institutions can both address problems of inequality and exacerbate those problems.

Digital Arts

Offered by: Claire Trevor School of the Arts

The minor in digital arts provides a foundation in the arts with an emphasis on computer-based artistic expression.  Students receive hands-on experience with current software tools, creating and sharing digital art projects, developing an appreciation of digital aesthetics and conceptual design, and learning the fundamentals of desktop video, audio, and web authoring software. Lectures and discussions examine how today’s pervasive digital culture evolves through interdisciplinary collaborations among artists, engineers, scientists, and scholars.  

Digital Filmmaking

Offered by: Claire Trevor School of the Arts

The minor in digital filmmaking was established to give students the skills to create sophisticated time-based media projects and learn advanced skills in production. With the minor, students will have the opportunity to produce digital film works with content that contributes to the future of film as an art form.

Students study a range of pre-production, production, and post-production courses to learn how to conceptualize, plan, execute, finish and deliver film works.  Projects courses include documentary, narrative, and episodic web content to provide a range of creative opportunities for artistic expression and achievement.

Digital Information Systems

Offered by: Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

Students outside the Bren School of ICS may pursue a minor in Digital Information Systems (DIS). The minor is designed for students who want to learn about information systems, computation, and digital communication without preparing to be computer programmers. Students completing the DIS minor will be able to understand the role of digital information systems in society, and will learn about the technological underpinnings of these systems and constraints on their design and use.

Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

Offered by: School of Physical Sciences

The science of the Earth as a system has implications for many fields of study. Students interested in understanding how the Earth’s systems work can complete the requirements for a minor in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. The program is primarily designed for students in the natural sciences and engineering who wish to explore interdisciplinary problems and broaden their studies to include the application of their fields to understanding the Earth system.

Economics

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

Economics studies the allocation of scarce resources; the way that individuals, groups, governments, and businesses make choices; and the consequences of those choices for people, nations, and society.

Courses in Economics enable students to study the way individuals make these choices (microeconomics), the way governments make these choices (public choice), and the aggregate consequences of these choices (macroeconomics). In addition, the Economics curriculum addresses international trade, money and banking, and economic development of the less developed nations.

Educational Studies

Offered by: School of Education

The minor in Educational Studies is designed to facilitate exploration of a broad range of issues in the field of education. Students who graduate with the minor may be employed in schools, government, private industry, and nonprofit organizations. Many graduates will pursue advanced training leading to teaching careers or administrative leadership. 

English

Offered by: School of Humanities

Students who minor in English obtain skills as critics and writers that will allow them to pursue advanced graduate work, if they choose, and succeed in a variety of professions and occupations.

The curriculum is designed to train students in criticism by sharpening their awareness of how one reads, analyzes, and performs critiques of literary writing. This training is conducted against an array of courses in canonical and non-canonical literatures. In addition to teaching major figures, aesthetic movements, and the history of English, American, and Continental literature from medieval times to the present, we also teach minority and world literatures.

European Studies

Offered by: School of Humanities

European Studies provides undergraduates with an opportunity to study Europe from the vantage points of several disciplines in the humanities and social sciences.   Because Europe is both a geographical place and an idea which changes throughout history, it has had different meanings at different times and in different places.  The study of Europe thus requires an open, pluralistic, and interdisciplinary curriculum that takes a critical approach to the ideas of Europe. 

Students will gain a multidisciplinary view of Europe as a whole and of its historical, political, and cultural formation and global implications.  

Film and Media Studies

Offered by: School of Humanities

Film and Media Studies students are trained to read and understand the audio-visual expressions and forms of media, and to analyze them from historical, theoretical, political, and aesthetic perspectives. Learning these critical skills involves exploring the appeal and operation of the social, historic, institutional, and textual entities we call cinema, television, and digital technologies.

Courses focus on a range of topics, including but not limited to the history and criticism of radio, television, sound theory and popular music, the history of games and simulations, period styles, industry genres, directors, national cinemas, and developments in new media and digital technologies.

French

Offered by: School of Humanities

A wide range of courses on French and Francophone literature, history, philosophy, and film are available to students who would like to minor in French. We take an interdisciplinary approach, stressing the relations among the aesthetic, the political, and the ethical. Students have the chance to work with outstanding teachers and scholars in small seminars.  French minors are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to study in France for a summer, a semester, or a year at one of the several centers run by the Education Abroad Program.

Gender and Sexuality Studies

Offered by: School of Humanities

Students of Gender & Sexuality Studies learn to think in flexible and rigorous ways.  The minor teaches students skills that are valuable in a wide range of careers and life experiences. Among these skills are the ability to engage in critical thinking, informed decision-making, and effective communication.

Courses integrate many aspects of learning, allowing students to apply what they learn in class to the world around them. Insights gained are beneficial in many dimensions of life before and after graduation.

German Studies

Offered by: School of Humanities

The minor in German Studies emphasizes the humanistic endeavor of understanding and evaluating culture. Courses are focused on language, literature, and film in context, that is, within the historical, social, philosophical, linguistic, intellectual, and political circumstances of their production and continuing reception.

Students develop skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing through an engaging, collaborative, task-based curriculum. The courses place a great deal of emphasis on meaningful cultural literacy in German, employing a diverse range of authentic texts and materials from the beginning. 

Global Cultures

Offered by: School of Humanities

Perhaps nowhere more than in the State of California, the contemporary workforce is constituted by people who have crossed geographic and cultural boundaries, and who are embodiments of the forces of globalization that this major helps students to understand and appreciate better.  Students who minor or major in Global Cultures are thus particularly sensitive to the challenges and opportunities presented by the multicultural society of which they are a part.

Global Middle East Studies

Offered by: School of Humanities

The Global Middle East Studies minor offers students an in-depth, interdisciplinary grounding in the histories and present-day realities of the Middle East in a global context.  Students will be well positioned to continue their studies at the graduate level in the U.S. and globally, and/or begin a career in law, business, consulting, foreign affairs, humanitarian affairs, medicine, science, or security studies, in which both theoretical and practical/first-hand knowledge of the regions we study are equally important.

Global Sustainability

Offered by: Interdisciplinary Studies

The minor in Global Sustainability prepares students to consider the challenges of meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.  Emphasis is given to addressing the extreme poverty that afflicts at least 20 percent of the world’s current population.

Students will become aware of the main drivers of climate change, both natural and human-induced, the intrinsic as well as the resource values of species, ecosystems, and communities, and how the loss of cultural diversity and a growing income gap between nations leads to additional pressure for biological resource exploitation.

Offered jointly by the Francisco J. Ayala School of Biological Sciences and the School of Physical Sciences.

Greek

Offered by: School of Humanities

The Greek minor is housed in the Department of Classics which aims to provide the undergraduate student with a working knowledge of the origins and heritage of Graeco-Roman civilization. The student pursuing a Greek minor benefits from a Department committed to a twofold purpose: (1) disseminating interest in and knowledge of Classical Civilization through the teaching of Greek and Latin language and literature; and (2) helping students, through courses in Classical literature, history, civilization, mythology, and religion taught through English translations, to appreciate the achievements of Greek and Roman culture and their pervasive influence on our own civilization.

Health Informatics

Offered by: Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

The minor in Health Informatics prepares students to understand the expanding role of information technology (IT) in health care and to participate in creating IT solutions to health care issues. It includes coursework and fieldwork addressing a variety of health care IT settings. Students completing this minor will gain practical experience applying IT to serve the health care needs of communities and individuals.

Hearing and Speech Sciences

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

A minor in Hearing and Speech Sciences will provide in-depth training for undergraduates interested in becoming scientists and/or clinicians in health-related fields. This minor will help stimulate students’ interest in hearing and speech as well as increase their opportunities to be admitted to postgraduate programs in audiology, speech-language pathology, biomedical engineering, psychology, neuroscience, medicine and other allied areas.

History

Offered by: School of Humanities

Students planning to minor in history will find a wide range of classes and other learning opportunities available for undergraduate students.  Two introductory series are offered—U.S. history and world history—that provide students the opportunity to follow historical patterns across a long time period.

A range of other introductory courses are also offered in specific topics as diverse as religions, sexuality, science, medicine, revolutions, popular protests, and ancient societies.  These topical courses introduce students to the practices of history by focusing more narrowly on a particular historical theme, specific issue, or conceptual problem.

History and Philosophy of Science

Offered by: School of Humanities

The minor in the History and Philosophy of Science is intended for students who wish to study the history of science, the philosophical foundations of scientific inquiry, and the relationship between science and other fields. The history of science explores how science is actually done and how it has influenced history. The philosophy of science is concerned with determining what science and mathematics are, accounting for their apparent successes, and resolving problems of philosophical interest that arise in the sciences. 

Humanities and Law

Offered by: School of Humanities

The Humanities and Law minor introduces you to the critical study of law in the context of history, philosophy and literature. The minor brings together coursework useful in preparation for law-related careers.  Emphasis is on reading, writing, and critical thinking skills, and humanistic approaches to problems of law and society.

Informatics

Offered by: Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

The minor provides a focused study of Informatics to supplement a student’s major program of study and prepares students for a profession, career, or academic pursuit in which information and software design is an integral part but is not the primary focus. The minor allows students sufficient flexibility to pursue courses that complement their major field or address specific interests. The minor particularly centers on understanding the relationships among computers and people, and how these relationships must be addressed in information and software design.

Information and Computer Science

Offered by: Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

Students outside the Bren School of ICS may pursue a minor in Information and Computer Science. The minor provides a focused study of Information and Computer Science to supplement a student’s major program of study and prepares students for a profession, career, or academic pursuit in which computer science is an integral part but is not the primary focus. The minor contributes to students’ competence in computing technology and proficiency in programming and exposes them to the fundamentals of computer science. The minor allows students sufficient flexibility to pursue courses that complement their major field or address specific interests.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Offered by: The Paul Merage School of Business

The minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship provides extensive academic and practical training for students to embark on careers as entrepreneurs (innovating to form new companies) and intrapreneurs (innovating within existing companies).

The program provides students with knowledge and practical experience on certain core topics on the process of innovation and entrepreneurship, i.e., planning a new venture, lean startup methodology, venture capital, private equity, etc. Students are strongly encouraged to apply the associated business skills in the Business Plan Competition and in internships. Please be advised that completion of the prerequisite courses does not guarantee admission into the minor; space is very limited.

International Studies

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

The minor in international studies provides an interdisciplinary perspective on contemporary global issues, societies, and cultures. International studies minors acquire knowledge that will enable them to understand and contribute to shaping the rapidly evolving global community. The minor in international studies helps prepare students for graduate study or professional careers in a variety of fields in the national and international job markets such as international affairs and public policy, international business and finance, international organizations, and academic research and teaching.

Italian Studies

Offered by: School of Humanities

In addition to courses in Italian literature, the minor in Italian Studies enables students to pursue their interests in Italian culture through courses in Art History, Film and Media Studies, History, and Philosophy.

Students interested in an Italian minor should consult with the faculty to design their individual course of study. An alternative course of study for those interested in Italian is a major or minor in the European Studies Program with an emphasis in Italian. Students also have the opportunity to study in Italy through the Education Abroad Program.

Japanese Language and Literature

Offered by: School of Humanities

Studying Japan brings particular challenges and pleasures: a land with a long and distinguished history and culture, over the years it has actively welcomed the cultural heritage of neighboring Chinese, Korean, and more recently European and American institutions. These have in turn shaped Japan’s distinctive achievements in the arts, sciences, and culture.

The minor in Japanese Language and Literature enables students to understand the extensive and rich literary, historical, social, and aesthetic achievements of Japan by studying its language, literature, film, religion, and other cultural accomplishments.

Japanese Studies

Offered by: School of Humanities

Japanese Studies provides undergraduates with an opportunity to study Japan from the vantage points of several disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Students will develop advanced language skills and acquire a broad historical, political and cultural understanding of the geographical place and people. The minor can be combined with any major, and study through the UC Education Abroad Program is encouraged.

Jewish Studies

Offered by: School of Humanities

Students in the Jewish Studies minor are introduced to the many facets of Jewish cultures through the study of the history, philosophy, art, literature, languages, and social and political institutions of Jews from ancient to modern times. The minor provides students with grounding in areas of fundamental importance to the Humanities and Social Sciences, supporting and enriching the students’ majors.

The minor may be taken in tandem with any major. The interdisciplinary approach of Jewish studies exposes students to a wide range of disciplines, and like other established liberal arts fields, provides a foundation for pursuing a range of careers.

Korean Literature and Culture

Offered by: School of Humanities

The rich cultural traditions of Korea have been developed as a result of interaction with as well as opposition to two neighboring countries, China and Japan. The curriculum for the minor enables students to understand the extensive and rich literary, historical, social, and aesthetic achievements of Korea by studying its language, literature, film, religion, and other cultural accomplishments in depth.

Latin

Offered by: School of Humanities

Students who want to focus on the Latin language and Rome as their area of study may want to consider the Latin minor. By the end of first-year Latin, students will be reading and analyzing some of the most influential works in Latin literature. In addition to gaining an expertise in Latin, students also devote a portion of their study to an examination of the history and culture of ancient Rome by taking upper-division Classical Civilization courses with Rome as their focus and/or additional Latin courses. 

Latin American Studies

Offered by: School of Humanities

Latin America is an area born out of a series of conquests, migrations, contacts, and conflicts; it is transcultural, multi-lingual, and multi-ethnic. It has been a vital part of the formation of the modern world even as it has continued to function as a source for the expression of economic, political, and cultural alternatives to dominant Western formations.  The Latin American Studies minor provides deeper knowledge and expertise in this region for students interested in a variety of careers. 

Linguistics

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

Linguistics is the scientific study of human language ability. It is concerned with describing languages and with understanding our knowledge of language as speakers and how we come to have that knowledge. It is connected to many other fields of study, including psychology, anthropology, sociology, biology, physics, mathematics, computer science, philosophy, and literature.

Courses offered include both core introductory classes and a series of more advanced courses in linguistic theory, as well as various courses in such topics as language studies, sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, and psycholinguistics.   For those minoring in linguistics, study abroad is encouraged.

Literary Journalism

Offered by: School of Humanities

The literary journalism minor provides students with a foundation in nonfiction writing and an equally solid background in areas such as literary history, which together will help make them more informed writers.

Students develop sophisticated writing skills as they study and write narratives, memoirs, profiles, histories and personal essays, in subject areas as varied as science, politics, justice, travel, sports, food and popular culture. They use as models a multitude of writers, ranging from Daniel Defoe, James Boswell and Stephen Crane to George Orwell, Lillian Ross, and Joan Didion and many others. 

Management

Offered by: The Paul Merage School of Business

Customize your own road to success, and learn from a graduate school faculty recognized to be one of the best in the nation, along with Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and UCLA.

Who should consider a management minor? (1) students who wish to learn about the management of organizations as a way of preparing for a career in business, (2) students preparing for careers in other fields that require some knowledge of management, and (3) students who expect to go on to graduate work in management who desire early guidance and undergraduate work appropriate to this career objective.

Materials Science Engineering

Offered by: The Henry Samueli School of Engineering

The interdisciplinary field of materials science and engineering has become critical to many emerging areas of advanced technology and their applications. As a result, there are needs and opportunities for engineers and scientists with education and training in materials science and engineering.

The goal of the minor in Materials Science Engineering (MSE) is to provide students at UCI with such education and training that will enable them, upon graduation, to not only participate in projects or programs of an interdisciplinary nature but also address challenging societal needs and complex technological advances.

Mathematics

Offered by: School of Physical Sciences

Undergraduate mathematics courses are of several kinds: courses preparatory to advanced work in mathematics, the exact sciences, and engineering; courses for students of the social and biological sciences; and courses for liberal arts students and those planning to enter the teaching field.

Mathematics for Biology

Offered by: School of Physical Sciences

Undergraduate mathematics courses are of several kinds: courses preparatory to advanced work in mathematics, the exact sciences, and engineering; courses for students of the social and biological sciences; and courses for liberal arts students and those planning to enter the teaching field.

Among the courses typically offered for the mathematics for biology minor are: Introduction to Abstract Mathematics, Dynamical Systems, Boundary Value Problems, Mathematical Modeling in Biology, Numerical Analysis, Introduction to Partial Differential Equations and Applications, The Theory of Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, and Elementary Analysis.

Medical Anthropology

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

Courses in medical anthropology expose minors to the breadth of the field as well as demonstrate the significance of anthropology to contemporary society.  Students will gain:  1) an understanding of cultural diversity and global relationships; 2) the fundamentals of conducting research and analyzing sources of information through ethnographic and other anthropological techniques; and 3) communication skills in organizing and presenting information in written reports and oral presentations.

Medical Humanities

Offered by: Interdisciplinary Studies

Medical Humanities is an interdisciplinary, humanistic and cultural study of illness, health, health care, and the body. Students explore the boundaries between sickness and health and learn to see life through a patient’s eyes. Topics include: the authority of the physician, the role of the hospital, the doctor-patient relationship, the social dimensions of racial and gender differences, and changing conceptions of disease and healing.

The minor may be combined with any major and of particular interest to those students planning to attend medical school, nursing school, pharmacy school and public health school.

Native American Studies

Offered by: Interdisciplinary Studies

The minor in Native American Studies is an interdisciplinary, interschool program, hemispheric in scope. Focusing on North America and Mesoamerica, the three core courses provide an overview respectively of:  pre-Columbian history, worldviews, social organization, religion, and the centrality of place; American Indian diplomacy, law and history since 1776; and a critical assessment of colonialism, evolutionary theory, and ethnography. Upper division offerings, drawing upon research and teaching specializations of faculty from different departments, further enrich the minor with analysis of Native American literature and histories of native Latin America.

Persian Studies

Offered by: School of Humanities

As a minor in Persian Studies you will acquire a knowledge of Persian culture and history.  Recognizing that Persians/Iranians throughout the world constitute a significant population and culture, Persian Studies at UCI emphasize the historical development of Persianate institutions, culture, and society in a variety of international settings.  Since dynamic contact with many other religions and cultures influenced the development of Persianate and Iranian civilization, you can study Persian within the broader context of dominant societies and the spectrum of the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

Philosophy

Offered by: School of Humanities

Of course, the most important reason to study philosophy is that philosophical questions interest you. Many students, however, assume that undergraduate study in philosophy will not contribute to their success after graduation. This assumption is badly mistaken. While you will not learn how to do legal research, start a company, or diagnose an illness, you will acquire analytical skills crucial for success in many different areas, including law, business, and medicine. If you enjoy philosophy, feel free to indulge yourself. The skills you acquire in studying the discipline will serve you well in your life after college.

Political Science

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

Are you interested in studying Political Science but do not want to major in it? You may want to consider the minor in Political Science. The program enables you to explore the field beyond the introductory level but in less depth than the major.  Explore the questions of how citizens relate to government, how individuals and organizations participate in the political process and implement decisions, how public policies are developed and implemented, and how nations deal with each other in the international environment.  

Psychology

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

A minor in psychology enables students to explore questions such as: What causes one individual to adapt to stress in our society and another to develop deviant, antisocial behavior? How do people change from infancy to adulthood because of biological, family, cultural, and social influences? Psychologists address these sorts of questions with a scientific rigor that requires a thorough knowledge of sensory, perceptual, cognitive, developmental, and social processes, as well as familiarity with the basic functioning of the nervous system.  Students in the minor gain a foundation in general psychology.

Psychology and Social Behavior

Offered by: School of Social Ecology

Psychology and Social Behavior is concerned with human behavior in social contexts. A foremost objective is to investigate how different social environments (e.g., the family, school, workplace, culture) affect health and human behavior across the life span. Students begin with basic coursework in developmental psychology, health and preclinical (abnormal) psychology, and social and environmental psychology. Subsequent courses cover such topics as social, emotional, and cognitive development in children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly; cultural, social, and personality influences on behavior; attitude formation and change; stress and coping; psychology and the law; and counseling and therapy. 

Public Health

Offered by: Program in Public Health

The minor in Public Health provides students with the fundamental knowledge of principles, applications, and skills needed to develop a firm appreciation of health and disease prevention at the population level, and to use this special knowledge to transform the experience of their major education into innovative approaches for solving problems in health care and assessment.

Queer Studies

Offered by: School of Humanities

The minor in Queer Studies provides students with an opportunity to study sexuality as a complex historical and cultural formation, rather than merely a feature of intimacy or an outcome of universal and unchanging biological forces.

Queer Studies focuses on the study of how norms are produced and come to be taken for granted, and, conversely how they are destabilized either through their own internal contradictions or through the interventions of activists seeking social justice. Thus the field shares intellectual affinities with the interdisciplinary fields of women's studies, gender studies, ethnic studies, critical legal studies, and cultural studies. 

Religious Studies

Offered by: School of Humanities

The curriculum of our major and minor seeks to provide understanding and knowledge of the religious experience in society through relevant study in the Schools of Humanities, Social Sciences, Social Ecology, and the Arts. It employs a wide variety of approaches and methods in order to comprehend in the broadest sense the role of religion and its relationship to other significant human factors.

Students are encouraged to take at least some of the courses for the major or minor at universities abroad, either through the University of California's Education Abroad Program, or independently. 

Russian Studies

Offered by: School of Humanities

The Russian Studies minor, in combination with another major, can give you a real edge. Russian on your resume shows that you believe in your abilities, that you accept challenges, and that you are not afraid to go off the beaten path. Russian is not only one of the official languages of diplomacy at the U.N. and a member language of the G-8, but reasonable functional proficiency will greatly increase your prospects in business, engineering, teaching, law, and medicine.

The Russian Studies minor is an interdisciplinary program. Students can select courses in Political Science, History and Russian Literature and Culture. Most classes are taught in English.

Social Ecology

Offered by: School of Social Ecology

The study of Social Ecology prepares students for careers in a wide variety of occupations. The training is explicitly interdisciplinary, providing a broad perspective that views ecological systems in a holistic fashion. Our students have a wide variety of interests and our alumni have gone on to a wide variety of careers.  Among the course topics the minor explores are criminology, law and society, environmental analysis and design, urban studies, psychology, and psychology and social behavior.

NOTE: Students pursuing a major in the School of Social Ecology may not use upper-division coursework for both school major and minor requirements. No overlap is permitted. SOCECOL 198 and SOCECOL 199 may not be applied toward the minor.

Sociology

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

As a sociology minor, students have the opportunity to study patterns of relationships among people, how behavior is shaped by these patterns of relationships, and how conflicts and cooperation among groups affect social structure and effect social change.  Emphasis for students studying sociology is on empirical sociological research in such areas as small groups, organizations, work, art, world systems, gender, family, and social networks.  

Spanish

Offered by: School of Humanities

The minor exposes students to Spanish language and composition as well as to the cultural literacy needed to be citizens of a globalized world where over 400 million people speak Spanish.

The rich cultural legacy of the Hispanic world is approached from an interdisciplinary perspective that puts Latin American and Spanish texts in dialogue with other fields of knowledge such as anthropology, linguistics, history, women's studies, and studies on globalization, among others.  Also offered are courses in Spanish and Latin American film, as well as in visual culture.  

Spanish/English Bilingual Education

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

A minor in Spanish/English Bilingual Education will create a pathway to better prepare future bilingual teachers by providing students with the following: foundational knowledge on current issues in bilingual education; hands-on experience as a teacher aide/tutor in a bilingual classroom; and knowledge of linguistic and cultural phenomena associated with the Spanish language and populations from Latin American countries.

Statistics

Offered by: Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

The minor in Statistics provides students with exposure to both statistical theory and practice. Interest in statistical methods has increased dramatically with the abundance of large databases in fields like computer science (Internet and Web traffic), business and marketing (transaction records), and biology (the human genome and related data). The minor is somewhat intensive, but it is a useful complement to a variety of undergraduate fields for mathematically inclined students. The minor, supplemented with a few additional courses (mathematics and computing), would provide sufficient background for graduate study in statistics.

Urban and Regional Planning

Offered by: School of Social Ecology

Urban and Regional Planning is a dynamic, cutting edge field that attracts diverse individuals and draws upon and integrates knowledge from geography, economics, design, sociology, environmental studies, political science, urban studies, and other fields. Planners use a range of skills from critical thinking to spatial analysis to environmental sustainability assessment to understand and improve our world.

Urban Studies

Offered by: School of Social Ecology

Students from any major can benefit from minoring in urban and regional planning. Social scientists will learn public management and community organizing. Engineers will learn about urban infrastructure systems, including water supply and transportation. Humanities majors will discover that planning thought draws heavily on critical analyses of race, class, and ethnicity. Science majors will find that planners apply knowledge of statistics, engineering, and environmental systems to solve complex problems.

Music, B.A.

Offered by: Claire Trevor School of the Arts

Music is unique among the arts and humanities in terms of the wide range of transferable skills developed in the undergraduate curriculum that tend to be widely admired by employers in many fields.  Music majors at UCI learn how to think, write, present themselves in public, and work collaboratively in different kinds of teams. With a degree in Music, students will find that many career paths lie before them.

Music majors study music history, music theory, composition, or performance within a curriculum that is flexible enough to allow a second major, study abroad, and other curricular options.

Neurobiology, B.S.

Offered by: School of Biological Sciences

The Neurobiology major is designed to teach students how neurobiologists apply cellular, molecular, systems, and behavioral analyses in understanding how the nervous system works. The hallmark of the major is a year-long, in-depth exploration of the intellectual tools used to create, advance, and disseminate knowledge about the nervous system.

Graduates will be well qualified for graduate or professional schools in preparation for careers in biological research, medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, nursing, and other related fields. Even without additional education, they will be competitive for positions in the pharmaceutical industry, the health care delivery industry, or in medically or biologically related technologies. 

Nursing Science, B.S.

Offered by: Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing

Nursing Science prepares students to function as generalists in professional nursing practice and to collaborate with other health care providers in clinics, hospitals, and community health settings. Nurse professionals work with people of all ages, cultural backgrounds, and lifestyles. The undergraduate curriculum is designed to provide theory and research-based clinical experiences that integrate critical thinking, compassion, and caring behaviors that build clinical expertise. Nursing Science graduates are eligible to take the licensure examination to become a registered nurse. The Nursing Science major is approved by the Board of Registered Nursing and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

Pharmaceutical Sciences, B.S.

Offered by: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

UCI’s Pharmaceutical Sciences B.S. is the only program of its kind in the UC system. This unique program trains students in a multidisciplinary approach so that they can contribute to the advancement of new pharmaceutical technologies such as accelerated chemical synthesis, molecular-based assays using cloned enzymes and cloned metabolizing enzymes, combinatorial chemistry, in-vitro biopharmaceutical techniques, and gene therapies.

Pharmaceutical scientists are rapidly changing the field of drug discovery and development. Program graduates are well qualified to seek employment in the public and private sectors, or to pursue graduate degrees such as a Ph.D., M.D., or Pharm.D. 

Philosophy, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

A major in Philosophy trains students to be flexible, imaginative, and creative thinkers rather than skilled performers of a fixed routine. Students receive solid training in argument and reasoning, which exposes them to provocative and intriguing ideas by such master thinkers as Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, and Kant.

Courses in metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and other areas are designed to emphasize discussion, essay writing, and the presentation and defense of personal points of view on topics central to the human condition. The faculty encourages Philosophy majors to seriously consider expanding their perspective through an experience of study abroad.

Physics, B.S.

Offered by: School of Physical Sciences

Physics majors are expert problem-solvers with a broad understanding of physical principles. The program is flexible and prepares students for careers in industrial research, applications programming, education, law, or business, as well as for graduate study in astronomy, biomedical physics, engineering, or physics. Meetings with faculty advisors assist students in selecting a program that matches their aptitudes and interests.

In addition to the core Physics courses, students complete either a standard track (such as the track for future Ph.D. physicists), or one of the formal concentrations or specializations (in Applied Physics, Biomedical Physics, Computational Physics, Philosophy of Physics, Physics Education, or Astrophysics). 

Political Science, B.A.

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

As a political science major at UCI, you explore how politics works at the individual, group, national, and international levels. Students are introduced to the findings and the methods for gathering information about political behavior and political processes. Coursework emphasizes the development of analytic thinking and clear writing skills and focuses on American society and politics, comparative politics, international relations, public law, and political theory.

Students participate in programs such as the UCDC Internship Program in Washington, D.C., and UCI’s Education Abroad Program. Graduates are prepared for careers in business, international relations, law, politics, consultancy, journalism, and public service.

Psychology, B.A.

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

Have you ever wondered how we perceive, learn, and solve problems? What causes one individual to adapt to stress in our society and another to develop deviant, antisocial behavior? Psychology majors gain a strong foundation in general psychology and are prepared for postgraduate training and careers in all branches of psychology.

Students specifically interested in a program with a quantitative approach to theory and research should consult the course listings for the B.S. in Cognitive Sciences.  Students interested in other areas of psychology should consult the course listings in the School of Social Ecology and the Francisco J. Ayala School of Biological Sciences. 

Psychological Science, B.A.

Offered by: School of Social Ecology

The curriculum focuses on human behavior in social contexts, and variations in social environments (i.e., the family, school, and the workplace) that affect human behavior over the life span. Majors learn developmental, social, health, and abnormal psychology as well as environmental, clinical, and community psychology. Students also gain rigorous training in research methods and statistics.

Opportunities to participate in faculty research projects are available as well as field internships in education and health care settings. Graduates have assumed positions in the private and public sectors or pursued advanced degrees in psychology, education, human development, public health, social work, counseling, law, and business.

Public Health Sciences, B.S. / Public Health Policy, B.A.

Offered by: Program in Public Health

Public Health majors aim to create, integrate, and translate population-based knowledge into preventive strategies for reducing the societal burden of human disease and disability.

Students are trained in multidisciplinary approaches to public health practice and research. Both the B.S. and B.A. degrees explore quantitative and qualitative aspects of public health at all levels of analysis. Upon graduation, students have the opportunity to become the new generation of public health leaders prepared to confront the emerging challenges to human health from a population perspective.

Students should carefully evaluate their academic preparation and career goals before enrolling in either degree program.

Quantitative Economics, B.A.

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

The major in Quantitative Economics best prepares students for careers in business and finance, for law school, for M.B.A. programs, and for graduate studies in the social sciences. Courses for the major include topics such as basic economics, single-variable calculus, linear algebra, economics of asymmetric information, game theory, the economics of risk and uncertainty.

Religious Studies, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

The Religious Studies major focuses on the comparative understanding of the various ways different peoples have developed their religious ideas, values, systems, beliefs, rituals, and traditions in response to fundamental questions of human existence.

The study of religion is interdisciplinary and offers a rigorous, systematic, and dispassionate intellectual inquiry into various aspects of religious systems, their practitioners and outlooks, and their goals and expressions. It employs a wide variety of approaches and methods in order to understand the role of religion in both human experience and thought. Majors complete an emphasis in either Judaism, Christianity, Islam, or in world religious traditions.

Social Ecology, B.A.

Offered by: School of Social Ecology

Social Ecology can be defined as the interactions within the social, institutional, and cultural contexts of people-environment relations that make up well-being. Social Ecology's motivating philosophy is a pragmatic one—the most persistent ills of society (sprawl, malnutrition, deforestation, urban violence, waterborne disease, obesity, housing insecurity, and countless others) seem to resist the prescriptions emerging from uni-disciplinary research.

Is social ecology the study of everything? No, but it is a manner of studying things. It concerns how the different objects of study relate to, bump into, and change each other such that the social phenomenon cannot be attributed to any of its objects.

Social Policy and Public Service, B.A.

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

The Social Policy and Public Service program is designed for students interested in social issues, social justice, equality, and social policy. With three unique areas of focus (Education, Governance, and Health) students can explore educational access and progress, the impact of public policies, or America’s current health and health care policies.  

Majors have the opportunity to use their classroom knowledge in applied and individual learning experiences, such as internships, field studies, or research with a faculty advisor. The degree will prepare students to understand public policy formulation, quantitative and qualitative analysis, organizations and public policy, nonprofit management, and leadership. 

Sociology, B.A.

Offered by: School of Social Sciences

What will an increasingly older population mean for our economy and way of life? What role does racial preference play in online dating? How many undocumented immigrants live in the U.S. and what does that mean for policy-makers? Sociology is the study of the products of human interaction—groups, institutions, and societies. Sociology majors learn to look beyond conventional explanations to understand how conflict, cooperation, inequality, and diversity shape our social world.

The innovative program encourages hands-on research and faculty emphasize empirical sociological research in such areas as small groups, organizations, work, art, world systems, gender, family, and social networks. 

Software Engineering, B.S.

Offered by: Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

Large Internet companies, automotive and aerospace corporations, and medical and health software providers all need software engineers to program, design, architect, and lead the development of their software projects.

Software Engineering majors learn to be productive team members in a variety of application domains. Throughout the curriculum, students gain hands-on experience in creating a variety of software systems, giving you the opportunity to use different programming languages, apply your skills to different domains and work in different teams. This culminates in developing a real system for a real client, typically from a company or organization outside the university.

Spanish, B.A.

Offered by: School of Humanities

Spanish majors become familiar with the cultural literacy needed to be citizens of a globalized world where more than 400 million people speak Spanish. Classes explore the life and culture of over 24 Spanish-language countries.

The rich cultural legacy of the Hispanic world is approached from an interdisciplinary perspective that puts Latin American and Spanish texts in dialogue with other fields such as anthropology, linguistics, history, women's studies, and studies on globalization, among others.  Majors boast an active social life that includes luncheons with faculty and graduate students, tertulias, film festivals and forums, among other social and cultural activities.   

Undeclared

Offered by: Division of Undergraduate Education

In order to make an informed decision and foster clear educational and career goals, students not only have to know about the degrees UCI has to offer, but also be aware of their own abilities and interests. Students uncertain about what major to choose may choose to participate in the Undergraduate Undeclared Advising Program.



Undeclared students participate in a variety of programs designed to provide them with the information and experience needed to make the most of their academic career at UCI.  This includes academic advising and programs such as Freshman Seminars, First Year Excellence, and Undeclared mentorships.

Urban Studies, B.A.

Offered by: School of Social Ecology

A majority of the world's population now lives in cities. Urban Studies majors learn how to foster more equitable, inclusive, sustainable and livable cities.  It integrates theories, analytical tools, and experiences from the fields of planning, policy, and design to investigate the causes, prevalence, and consequences of urban challenges and to develop approaches for addressing them.

Urban Studies can be a solid foundation for employment in urban and regional planning, community development, environmental management, social welfare, or related fields; or preparation for graduate and professional training in planning, public policy, geography, law, political science, urban design, and many other disciplines.